Evaluation and Analysis of Fire Risk Elements within the Visibility Zones of Lookout Towers: The Case of Izmir Regional Forest Directorate
Öz
Aim of study: Evaluate the effectiveness of fire lookout towers in İzmir by integrating viewshed and network analyses with key fire-risk layers.
Area of study: İzmir Regional Forest Directorate (western Türkiye), with fire incident records from 2009-2023.
Material and method: DEM-based GIS viewshed mapping of tower visibility; road-network/vehicle-speed–based service-area (5-30 min) network analysis; overlay with fire susceptibility/severity maps, WUI, 2009-2023 incidents, and water sources; spatial intersections and summary statistics.
Main results: Towers see 72.1% of the area (27.9% blind spots); 75.9% of very-high susceptibility and 73.2% of high-severity zones are visible; 85.7% of 5-min reachable areas are visible but non-visible shares grow with longer times; in WUI, visibility = 72-78% while accessibility rises from 35.4-43.5% (5 min) to ~70% (15 min); 79% of past fires occurred in visible areas and >60% were accessible within 15 min; only 50.6% of 405 water sources are reachable in 10 min.
Research highlights: Considering visibility and accessibility together provides site-specific, action-oriented indicators; blind spots and limited short-term accessibility within the WUI are the primary gaps. Restricted access to water sources reduces operational efficiency. Optimizing tower siting and improving road/water infrastructure can increase coverage and response capacity.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Accessibility, Fire Lookout Towers, Fire Severity, Visibility Analysis, WUI Zones
Kaynakça
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